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This mottled, prickly seastar is the largest seastar found in
southern Australia and it can be quite abundant in sheltered
habitats. With arms up to 44 cm long from the centre to tip,
it lives on sand and shelters under rocks down to 150 m deep.
Its range is from WA to NSW including Tasmania and New Zealand.
While it usually has 11 arms, at times it may have between 7
and 14. Like other seastars, each arm can grow into a whole
new animal if a piece of the central disc is still attached.
It scavengers on dead prey but is also a voracious predator
of live molluscs such as mussels and scallops, using its tube
feet to part the shells of its prey.
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